Ebola hemorrhagic fever, discovered in 1976, has long elicited fears in the minds of many people. Often claiming the lives of more than half of infected victims, it was seen as a terror, but one that was largely contained to the African continent. However, the 2014 Ebola Epidemic saw the first symptomatic and fatal cases of Ebola in the United States. The threat of Ebola was no longer a distant threat to U.S. Americans – it was here and it gained increased national news media coverage. National news media coverage of 2014 Ebola Epidemic not only informed audiences about the event, but also framed, audience understanding. While research exists on how U.S. news media has covered other infectious disease outbreaks such as HIV/AIDS and swine flu, and discussed implications of cultural impacts and perceptions of infectious disease outbreaks, at this time, only one published article analyzed frames in U.S newspapers coverage of Ebola (providing implications for preparedness and prevention). The presence of symptomatic and lethal Ebola cases in the United States and increased presence as a topic in U.S. national news media necessitate additional study of news media frames. This proposed study will analyze U.S. national newspapers (The New York Times, USA Today, and The Wall Street Journal) for how they framed the 2014 Ebola Epidemic and discuss the implications of those frames. Researchers will perform a content analysis of U.S. national newspaper articles published during U.S. Ebola Contact Tracing period (September 30 – December 02, 2014), using adapted frames identified in the Semetko and Valkenburg (2000) study.
About the presentersMonique Luisi
Monique is an assistant professor of Strategic Communication in the School of Journalism at the University of Missouri. Her primary research interests are health messages in the media and their intersection with underserved populations. Other interests include social media and new media ethics. Her goals are to study health and risk message effects on communities.
Joshua Barker
Josh is a Roy H. Park Doctoral Fellow at the University of North Carolina studying health information policy and digital health information’s effects on rural and underserved populations.